This invention relates to a baler for forming round bales of agricultural crop material, and more particularly to a variable chamber round baler having an open throat or starting chamber for assisting in starting the bale.
In a belt type variable chamber baler, a recognized problem is that of starting of the bale. Many systems have been developed to make starting of a round bale less difficult. Some such systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,782,652; 4,759,278; 4,422,373; and 4,648,239.
The above-noted patents disclose variable chamber belt-type balers in which the baler belts are trained around an upper stationary roller, which is located above the uppermost point of the bale after the bale is formed in the bale-forming chamber. In many of the noted patents, a pair of pivotable arms are mounted to the forward portion of the baler, and a pair of rollers are mounted between the arms. The rollers are mounted close together, and engage the baler belts below the stationary upper roller, to generally define an inverted V-shaped starting chamber for receiving crop material from the crop inlet of the baler at the outset of bale formation. The arms with the rollers extending therebetween act as part of the take-up mechanism for the baler belts, and pivot upwardly as the bale grows during bale formation.
A baler constructed as described above generally functions satisfactorily. However, one drawback is that the arms always return to a predetermined position, and thereby the size of the bale starting chamber is fixed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a belt type variable chamber round baler having a starting chamber, and in which the size of the starting chamber can be adjusted by the operator. It is a further object of the invention to provide an adjustment feature which is simple in construction an operation, and which is readily incorporated into a conventionally constructed variable chamber baler.
The invention is employed in conjunction with a belt type round baler including a plurality of side-by-side baler belts which are disposed in a starting position prior to bale formation and in a finish position after bale formation. The invention comprises a mechanism for supporting the belts in the starting position to define a bale starting chamber for receiving crop material at the outset of bale formation, wherein the starting chamber is located between a pair of lower stationary baler rollers which define the crop inlet. The baler belts are supported above and between the pair of stationary baler rollers adjacent the crop inlet, and adjustment means is provided for adjusting the size of the bale starting chamber prior to bale formation. In one form of the invention, the belts are wrapped around one or more starting chamber rollers located above and between the pair of stationary baler rollers, and the adjustment means provides adjustability of the position of the one or more rollers prior to bale formation. The starting chamber rollers are mounted between the inner ends of a pair of arms, which are pivotably mounted at their outer ends to the baler, for providing moveable mounting of the starting chamber rollers to the baler. The adjustment means is interconnected with the arms, and is operable to pivot the arms to a selected position prior to bale formation, for providing adjustment in the size of the bale starting chamber.
The invention further contemplates a method of adjusting the size of bale starting chamber, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
The adjustability in the size of the bale starting chamber allows the baler operator to provide the proper size of starting chamber in accordance with the crop material being baled. For light fluffy crops, it is preferable to increase the size of the bale starting chamber to provide ease in forming the crop core before the bale-forming chamber begins to expand. For heavier, more dense crops, the size of the starting chamber is decreased, for the same reason.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the baler belts are supported between the pair of lower baler rollers adjacent the crop inlet solely by the starting chamber rollers. That is, the baler belts are not wrapped around any of the stationary baler rollers between the baler rollers forming the crop inlet.
Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description, taken together with the drawings.